Royal and Runaway
by ProbablyEpsilon
Summary: (Dragon AU) A young dragoness left her home and now resides on the edge of fire dragon territory almost as if drawn to the warm environment, trying to stay out of trouble until it eventually finds her and she is saved by the prince of the fire dragons Natsu.
1. Chapter 1

**Royal and Runaway**

 **A/N: just a idea i had floating around in my head figured it'd be kinda cool, Let me know what you think. i got the idea from hunting by stardragonxx really like their work check it out if you like what i write they're just better lol. well cheers all enjoy. Disc: Don't own fairy tail.**

As the sun rose over the horizon, its rays past over the treeline of a nearby forest to reveal a clearing and a creature with vibrant yellow scales that reflected the sun to appear gold if you didn't know any better. The sun continued to rise to shine on the curled in creature from the base of its tail and large legs progressing further up the back illuminating slightly darker yellow spines and a more pale yellow underbelly, as the sun continued to reveal the dragon large wings with golden frame and a leathery skin matching the color of underbelly of the beast, formed the wind catching skin to make the large beast soar-how ever unused they appeared to be- the sun finally reached the beautiful creatures snout that rested dormant on her paws, paws that reflected the light to shine into her scaly eyelids the dragon groaned attempting to chase sleep that eluded her to no avail. Realizing that regaining her sleep is a pipe dream the dragoness collects her thoughts before even opening her eyes, she couldn't hold back the purr of the feel of her warm scales heated by the sun, the warmth alone is the reason the golden dragon resides in fire dragon territory, she has always loved the heat their territory provided almost as if drawn to the warmth, not enough to go towards the volcanoes but enough to enjoy the heated plains of their land. Brought out of her daydream by her growling stomach, the dragoness rises to stand-although a little shakily- and proceeds to head out of fire dragon territory to try and hunt a decent meal.

Once she reaches the border of the Fire Kings domain the golden dragoness raises her snout in the air and inhales try to get a scent and catches one that makes her mouth water, mammoth one of the few creatures large enough to be a decent meal for a dragon on it's own, well at least one as young as her. The golden beauty follows the scent west walking on the border of the fire kingdom, after a trek she comes across her pray and doesn't hesitate to dive on the creature to satisfy her hunger, not bothering to notice that the creature was running in her direction in fear. As the dragoness begins gnawing at the now food in her paws she fails to notice the approaching scents coming from the same way mammoth had run. She's snapped out of her meal by Three dragons entering her clearing and growling at the younger golden dragon.

"Why do you have our prey!?" Growled out the one she pegged as the leader. Black and white scales covered shit head with a white band spreading across his face the rest of his body a dull orange, his companions held similar colors but obscure one pale orange, the other being slightly darker. The golden dragon instinctively took to a stand, knowing her only survival is if she gets away from them. "Answer me!" shouts the one with the black and white head. Not saying a word she bolts into the North deeper into the fire kings territory, she can't lead them to her resting spot and the other exits were blocked. "After her!" she hears the muffled shout, now she's fast but not having eaten a proper meal in a while inhibits her abilities not to mention her lack of exercising wings so no flying for the getaway. The chase continued up until she gets into a clearing near a lake and is rammed in her side falling over not having the strength to catch herself. she immediately attempts to rise she hears a growl she promptly ignores and gets to her feat slowly backing away from the three dragons that have chased her. "You got guts girly, being in fire dragon territory and all." he says with a smirk creeping on his face prowling closer to the golden dragoness.

"Uncle! Hurry up the food'll get away and it smells really good!" hearing the voice breaks all logical thought in the young dragoness and she runs no destination in mind just running on instinct, to do what she doesn't know. As the three pursuers are about to make chase a booming voice makes the freeze.

"Slow down Natsu you brat save some for me!" They all recognize the voice of the kings adviser and shouting the prince's name they all bow anticipating his arrival. Almost out of the clearing the golden dragoness runs into something solid just short of the treeline, she falls back and scrambles to get the new object in between her and her pursuers. She doesn't hear her new barrier mumble something about her 'not being food' and 'why does she smell so good'. The golden dragons new shields thoughts were interrupted as a towering inferno entered the clearing that caused the golden dragon to start trembling along with the other three that go unconsidered. "Brat where did you go!?" he roars causing the dragon behind the new 'shield' to whimper, which caused a growl not directed at her to sound off in the clearing.

"Uncle! I'm hear! Stop your roaring!" The dragon named Natsu yelled at the walking inferno, trying to keep it softer because the trembling creature that is using him as a shield. The inferno looked taken aback by the lack of care free attitude on the princes demeanor but nonetheless enters the clearing significantly being the largest dragon towering over the other five present almost double their sizes clearly the only adult, Surveys the scene and sees Natsu ready for a fight so he decides to intervene.

"What's going on here?" The elder dragon ask taking a seat on his haunches his tail of pure flame wrapping around them immediately incinerating any grass near his spot as his wings flexed and rested again against his back, the one with the black face is the first to speak his companions shaking in fear of the kings advisor.

"We were chasing an intruder that entered fire dragon territory." the black and white faced dragon said bowing his head.

"Totomaru where's the intruder?" asked the large dragon of pure fire.

"Over there sir Atlas Flame" Totomaru replies gesturing towards the prince never raising his head. which earns a growl from Natsu as he unfolds his wings to better shield the whimpering golden dragoness behind him his growl now a constant.

"Natsu, may i see this intruder?" Atlas ask his 'nephew far gentler than when speaking before. The prince snaps his head in his uncles direction and eyes him as if searching for hostility in the mass of pure fire. He finds what he wished and moves so his 'uncle' can see the young dragoness while still blocking the view of Totomaru and the other two. "Hello there hatchling." he says gently and lowers his head slightly not submissive just trying to make her comfortable. The golden dragon just lowers herself further and continues to whimper to show submission to the elder dragon. Watching the golden dragon whimper caused the prince to growl at his uncle who takes a step back getting the hint mumbling 'brat'.

"Hey you're okay, I won't let them hurt ya." Natsu says in a soft voice while stroking her neck with his snout, trying to sooth the whimpering dragoness and it works as the whimpering seems to stop he pulls back slightly and shows his fangs in a smile towards her, most of his body still pressed to hers covering her in warmth so comfortable she can't help but let a purr escape which makes the prince even more smug in his grin. A small fireball smacking the back of his head bring him back to the task at hand. "Got a name?" he asked the dragoness still relishing in his warmth.

The golden dragoness removes her neck and head from Natsu's warmth to look at him getting her first real look at the prince. Natsu has bright almost ruby red colored scales with a dark pink underbelly, Firm muscled legs and dark red spines down is back, wings that look like hers but battle worn and powerful have a pale brown tint not matching his underbelly-she found that strange- and his bright red scales framing them. before she could even say anything she averted her eyes to the ground and muttered out "Lucille" before diving back into his warmth trying to hide her embarrassment, causing the prince to let out a happy growl at her actions.

"Did she give you a name Natsu?" The mighty hellfire dragon questioned his charge.

"Yeah 'er names Luce." The fire prince answered not moving his head from staring at the dragoness buried into his warmth as he wraps his tail around hers enjoying her presence near him. Both emitting purr/growling sounds at his actions.

Taking his eyes off the hatchlings Atlas turns towards the three bystanders. "You can go the prince and i will take it from here." he states not giving them a second thought as he turns back to his 'nephew'. The trio grumble but comply and leave the area of the three remaining dragons. Figuring the duo have cuddled enough Atlas lets out an annoyed huff. "That's enough you two now come on let's go!" Roars the advisor at the pair. The golden one jumps and squeaks and attempts to part from the warmth of the embrace, The prince just pulls her back to him via their still connected tails drapes a wing over her and growls at his uncle. "Come on we need to go see your father brat, he needs to know about your new…. Friend." he settles on after some thought deciding not to explain mating to hatchlings right this moment. Natsu removes his wing from sheilding Lucille and both fire dragons proceed unfurl their wing's and get ready to fly back towards their king when they notice the dragoness make no course of actions. "What's wrong hatchling?" Atlas ask hoping she doesn't choose to fight them, on coming with them.

"I can't use my wings." It was stated so softly both dragons could have easily missed it even with their senses, they look to Lucy to find the dragoness has developed a fascination with the ground. As she drags a single paw across the dirt.

"Why can't you fly Luce?" the prince ask inspecting her for the first time. He notices her more boney legs, the ribs impressions on her stomach, the lack of her moving her wings, her shaky ness when she's not leaning against him. "When was the last time you ate Luce?" Natsu ask pressing his muzzle into her throat and nuzzling her neck.

"I tried to hunt earlier that's why those other dragons were chasing me, I don't remember the last time before that." Lucille states not moving her gaze from the ground. That is until she feels something trying to get under her, she's in shock and the next thing she knew she was on the back of the fire prince placed so his spoines don't cut her underbelly.

"Let's go uncle!" the prince states and starts walking in the direction in which they came knowing where to find his father. Atlas looks like he's about to object so Natsu beats him to it. "You'll burn her, even if you tone down your flames you are fire, and she's not a fire dragon so let's go." snarks the prince and continues after a few seconds he hears atlas begin to follow them back to the royal grounds. Natsu Expected for Lucy to object and turns to address her only to find the beautiful dragoness asleep nuzzling his neck purring happily in his warmth. Natsu just smiles and continues to trek home with Atlas watching with a ghost of a smile on his face of pure fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **A/N:** **Sorry this might be kinda long feel free to skip. I'm really excited that people want to see more of this story, I spent a few days on the second half of this chapter just not liking the way it came out, I don't want it to feel rushed and i think i second guessed what i wanted to do a lot but I like what the end product is it's kinda a tedious chapter and mostly just setup for the next chapter but my brain wouldn't allow me to skip this and be happy with the way I did so but none the less it is done. I also want to try to work on making my chapters longer either in detail or plot so it doesn't feel lazy but yeah i'll stop my rambling ask questions if you have any i'll try to answer them Cheers!** **Disc:** **Don't own FT or the characters**

As the trio continue their trek towards the royal grounds in search of their king to inform him of his new guest the trees begin to thin and the large forest fades as the prince leads with his passenger still sleeping soundly with the dragoness's continuous purring and nuzzling into the warmth of Natsu's presence as the prince has their tails securely intertwined as they trot through the woods. Atlas Flame watches the young dragons with a ghost of a smile on his face of pure flame paying no mind to the vegetation he incinerate as he follows the new pair, the hellfire dragon is brought out of his musings as the prince stops in his tracks and he nearly runs into the young royal, seeing the prince check the clearing the elder dragon puts his head to the sky and inhales searching for any scent that would threaten the group smelling nothing Atlas Flame turns to his charge seeing him gently slide the golden dragoness from her perch on his back onto the ground being far more delicate than the adult thought the younger fire dragon was capable of, taking his eyes off the hatchlings he scans the clearing seeing a grand lake at the center with crystal clear water reflecting the moderate forest surrounding it, not smelling any lingering scents of dragons and no obvious burn marks the advisor comes to the conclusion this watering hole is mostly undiscovered to which he finds amusing considering the hundreds of dragons who've roamed this land for thousands of years he lets out a soft chuckle gaining the attention of his prince who snaps his head towards the elder fire dragon with a snarl on his lips, as if a switch flips in his mind he remembers who his companion is and turns back to the one named "Luce" as Natsu called her.

"Brat, why have we stopped shouldn't we be getting to your father?" Atlas Flame asks his charge taking a softer route if the earlier encounter was any indication of how to handle him with the dragoness near.

"Luce needs food and probably water, it's impressive she was able to run in this state let alone stand, she most likely hasn't eaten since last fall probably only consuming her element to get by." The deep growl that left the prince as he bit out his remark reminded Atlas Flame of Igneel when he was first challenged for the title of Fire Dragon King almost identical in ferocity, it took quite a bit of willpower to not step back from the child. Natsu's growl wasn't directed towards his uncle it was more at the current situation, at the world for making the golden creature before him that could put goddesses to shame into this unenviable state. Natsu shakes his head breaking his line of world cursing to turn towards the Hellfire dragon considered only second to his father and bows his head towards the elder dragon. "Please keep Lucille safe until I return, I'm going to get her food I don't want to leave her but I want to see her suffer even less. Protect her while I get her food please Atlas Flame."

The Dragon of pure fire stares at his prince in pure disbelief, Not only did the brat ask for something instead of playfully bossing him around, the prince addressed him by his name the Hatchling hasn't done that in his entire life always calling him uncle or a childish nickname to poke fun as he does with his friends. Atlas Flame is stopped in his thoughts by a whimper that came from the prince and the advisor having seen enough fo Natsus desperation walks towards his 'nephew' and nuzzles the prince's bent down head. "Of course hatchling with my very life, now raise your head that is no manner for a future Fire King to be seen in." Atlas starts gently but softly and sincerely and inches towards teasing in an attempt to bring back the fire in the son of Igneel, which seems to have done the trick as he growls and snaps at his 'uncle'.

"Whatever you walking bonfire!" Natsu snarls snapping his jaw and unfurling his wings in irritation, his tail unmoving from still being intertwined with the sleeping dragoness that lay next to him. The prince lets out a remorseful sigh as he untangles his tail from the golden goddess and stands, as he makes his way to the tree line the prince cranes his head back. "Thanks, uncle." he says softly and unfurl his wings and takes off a determination he's never felt before rises within himself as he sets off to hunt food for his dragoness.

Left in the clearing with the passed out girl Atlas lets out a heavy sigh accompanied by a small puff of fire as the walking inferno makes his way in between the treeline and the lake far enough away from the young dragoness to as not cause her discomfort from his flames, Walking in a circle incinerating the ground but also stomping out any fires before they could spread-the irony was not lost on him- as he takes a seat on his haunches in his newly scorched spot to wait for his princes return. As he sits he takes a good look at the golden creature attempting to gather more information on the dragoness that caught the princes eye, looking her over and putting aside her weakened state he decides that she is indeed a beautiful creature, her scales resembling gold may help his assessment considering fire dragons have a bit of an obsession with the precious metal, thinking on it only a few of the elements had the chance of being born with yellow scales even fewer with as much vibrancy to the scales, he stops his musings hearing a whimper coming from the subject of his thoughts as she begins to stir.

Lucille is brought out of her warm dreamscape by a striking pain in her right side, she tries to adjust only feeling pain causing a whimper to tear from her throat before she can stop it, the golden dragoness tries to think of what happened to cause her pain she remembers the orange dragons, the walking inferno and the red and pink one they called their prince, the last thing she remembers is warmth lulling her to sleep, letting out a whine at remembering the warmth and not having it as of this moment, Lucille decides to adjust and stop her pain when a voice causes her to freeze, not being the voice she expected.

"Ah, you're awake I see." Rumbles the voice of the one made of pure fire if Lucille recalls correctly, as she adjusts and attempts to stand hoping to make an escape from the elder dragon. "Relax hatchling I won't harm you, we are taking a rest, Natsu went to get you some food it appears you drastically need." Atlas Flame attempted to reassure her trying not to use demeaning terms to convey her weakened state. "I suggest you take a drink, my apologies but I will not be able to lend you aid unless you'd like to be nicely cooked." the elder dragon let out in a chuckle, as Lucille manages to get to a standing position favoring her left side as she looks at the mass of fire that looks almost laid back while not entirely facing the dragoness looking more towards the lake. The golden dragon seems tentative at first but her thirst outweighs her weariness and makes her way to the lake as to quench her thirst never taking her eyes off the hellfire dragon as she takes a drink causing the inferno to chuckle once again at her skepticism. "You might also wish to take a dip, not exactly a fire dragons preference in water at least, but it might make you feel better." The advisor comments offhandedly trying not to sound imposing as his tail flicks around lazily trying to display his attempt at indifference. The dragoness seems to ponder his words and she must have agreed as she slowly wades into the water gradually submerging herself never taking her eyes off the fire dragon leisurely sitting a ways off the shore, she reaches a depth that the water is over her shoulders and she lowers herself so that the only part above the water was the top of her snout and eyes like a giant alligator head poking out staring at Atlas Flame, who barely manages to hold back a chuckle at the sight that reminded him of the prince in the lava pools. Lucille raises a scaly brow towards the mass of raging flames asking a silent question, the larger dragon just shakes his head which she seems to accept as an answer.

Powerful beating wings draw the attention of both dragons away from their silent conversation, as a familiar pink underbelly descends into the clearing landing very close to where the dragoness had previously laid, as he surveys his immediate surrounding while setting his catch down after finding no dragoness he turns accusatory eyes onto the elder dragon. "Where's Luce? She was right here when I left." Natsu snarls out looking towards the elder dragon, caught up in his moment he fails to notice the bubbles coming from her slightly shifting snout as if she's laughing at the situation, Atlas notices her amusement and sighs. 'Great another troublemaker' he mentally states with an eye roll tuning out the young prince long ago as the son of Igneel still appears to be ranting at him, letting out a hefty sigh figuring that staring at the female isn't enough of a subtle queue for his hyperactive prince he lifts his blazing paw and gestures towards the lake. Natsu's growling comes to an abrupt halt as did his frantic state and word vomiting towards his uncle as his head snaps in the direction Atlas gestured him towards and spots a golden snout peaking above the water and he visibly relaxes, his shoulders slumping along with his wings shaking out then easing to rest against his back and his tail stops its flailing as he lets loose a sigh and mutters 'sorry' to his uncle.

The future fire king locks eyes with the dragoness and approaches the water edge slowly as to not frighten the creature within, as he reaches the grassy end he leans his head down to take a drink Natsu's onyx eyes never leaving Lucille's near golden brown. "I brought you some food, once you eat we can get going, take your time tho we're in no rush". The fire prince states offering her a soft smile before going down for his drink. At the thought of food Lucille's mouth beings to water and the golden dragoness attempts to stand only to be reminded of the sharp pain on her right side and swiftly crashes into the lake causing a large splash, for the most part, drenching the prince. Natsu swiftly enters the lake standing near the submerged dragoness as she raises her head out of the water only to avert her eyes from the prince in the embarrassment of her distressed state. After a few moments she looks back towards the prince who hasn't moved from her side and when she meets his eyes they hold a soft expression as he gestures for her to lean on him for support, Lucille mutters a soft 'thanks' and goes to stand much slower than the last time putting a large portion of her wait leaning left towards the prince sized crutch as the pair slowly wade through the water on their way towards the shore and a much needed meal for Lucille. As they reach near the large buffalo-like creature the prince come to a halt and gestures at his companion to lie down she leans her wait off Natsu's flank she shakes of what water she can, realizing her error almost immediately she turns to apologize to the young fire dragon only to see him as dry as a desert pushing aside her shock Lucille notices the steam coming off her companion and realize he just heated up and evaporated the water, realizing all is well she gradually lowers herself to the ground as Natsu goes to bring the prey over and drops it in front of her a smirk plastered on his face. "Would you like me to cook it?" Natsu asks with a cock of his head his smirk displaying the tips of his fangs, the joyfulness in his expression only increases when she gives a bashful nod while diverting her eyes away, Almost smugly Natsu happily gets to work on his task with a small beam of fire and heating up his paws he pick up the beast and rotates it to cook it evenly attempting not to burn it trying to be considerate of his new friends taste. Finishing his cooking and placing the prey at the base of her laid out paws close enough to where she can reach it but far enough it doesn't seem demeaning as to not hurt the dragoness's pride. Seeing his task complete as the magnificent dragoness before him is happily munching on her meal he walks toward his uncle to as not to appear to be hovering.

"The hatchling has spirit, even in her weakened state she keeps up her defenses, not quite distrusting but skeptical if I had to guess, this Lucille as you called her, may not be a fire dragon but she certainly has a fire within her she's a good one." Atlas Flame says to the boy as Natsu settles on his haunches next to the elder fire dragon, facing more towards Lucille than the lake but still keeping her in his line of sight. Reluctantly taking his eyes off the eating dragoness he turns to his uncle the question clear in his eyes as Natsu gazes at his to which Atlas flame just chuckles and slowly shakes his head. "I'll tell you when you're older brat. Now come on let us get going we should arrive before midday if we set out now." Atlas says attempting to corral the boy while also changing the topic, thanking the divine for Natsus short attention span as said prince heads towards his new companion.

Nawing on a bone as one would do a toothpick, Lucille hearing heavy footfalls approach her she spits out her moderate source of amusement and turns to the approaching dragon knowing it is Natsu by the lack of absurd temperature spike. When the fire dragon is in front of the girl he lowers himself to the ground turning his head to face her. "Can you get on by yourself or do you need a little help?" He asks in an carefree tone. Not uttering a word attempting to get her tail to stop flicking a nervous habit she has had since the day she hatched and limps towards the princes' body attempting to settle herself into a comfortable position being mindful of the spines on his back, all while her nervousness never fades. Sensing her state of unease Natsu moves his tail to wrap around his passengers and the golden appendage tenses before relaxing into the soothing heat as the rest of her body follows suit and begins to drift into a warmth induced trance. Seeing his passenger is settled in the prince rises carefully not to jostle her unnecessarily, reaching his standing position he resumes their trek making his way towards the royal grounds not bothering to check if his uncle is following as the dragoness resumes her previous nuzzling and soft purrs. With a certain pride in his step, the prince continues on his way his destination his den completely forgetting the original mission to explain her presence to his father, as Atlas follows the pair he can't help but smile fondly at the youngest fated mates he has seen across his entire life which is nothing to scoff at as the trio make their way deeper into the Firelands.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Context: When dragons lay their eggs all eggs of the land are grouped and set in a designated area while they hatch and mature during this time the only contact they have is with the other hatchlings, the dragons that hatch in the same group are called a litter.**

 **A/N: Okay so this story has gotten pretty awesome support and that's really cool to see you guys enjoying the story so thanks for that hope I can deliver. So answer time: do they have human forms: most likely not with the way I have the story going it works out better without them. The rest of the FT crew: Yeah one way or another most of them will make an** **appearance or be referenced in someway. Okay so lastly I wasn't sure about making Erza a fire dragon or metal, in the end I decided fire because it was the only way I could really see her making a significant appearance and I couldn't see that making her a metal dragon, sorry for the long A/N hope you enjoy cheers! Disc: Don't own FT or its characters**

When the three dragons near the royal grounds of the Firelands Lucille catches a presence that immediately causes her to tense, not belonging to a dragon but the very territory its self gave off an aura of power as if the land was destined to belong to royalty, Atlas Flame and Natsu weren't bothered in the slightest by the nature of the royal grounds seeing as the pair resided there, officially crossing into the royal grounds would have gone unnoticed by the fire dragons had it not been for the flexing of the golden dragons weakened muscles and the soft whimper of pain the action caused to tear from Lucille's throat. At realizing his passenger's discomfort Natsu emits a soft growl and nuzzles his head into hers that lays over his shoulder in an attempt to sooth the female while they continue their trek deeper into the royal territory.

Atlas takes it upon himself to locate the Fire King now that they have entered royal grounds and no dragon would willingly face Igneel's wrath so it should be safe to leave the younglings alone, seeing the duo wrapped in their own little world he decides to just take his leave unfurling his wings of pure fire and taking off not that the pair paid any mind towards the heavily heated windstorm that it caused.

Seeing as Lucille has somewhat calmed down Natsu begins walking once again but with no destination in mind his legs just seemed to develop a mind of their own, not that he noticed or would care if he had because at the current moment his attention is purely devoted to the beautiful creature on his back who has resumed her purring as she attempts to get further into his warmth as a shadow engulfs the pair. Natsu reluctantly tears his eyes away from Lucille to find what's obstructing the light from shining on his new treasure, he turns ready to growl only to find a rather large cave he recognizes as his den as his legs continue with their own agenda, the young fire dragon not caring enough to question good circumstances as he carries the female further into the den.

Once the warm sun rays left her back Lucille lifted her head to assess the situation, as her eyes adjust to the darkness she was able to make out the burnt rock walls of the cave, the knowledge of being in a cave causes the dragoness to tense at the thought of something blocking her from the open sky. Natsu at feeling her tense tightens his tail that is still intertwined with hers in a comforting gesture as he spits a fireball at what appears to be a fire pit to illuminate the room. The light reveals a rather spacious cavern, in the far back is what Lucille assumes is his hoard based on the brief glimmers of gold that reflects in the firelight, closer to the entrance is a pit large enough to fit Natsu and then some to which she knows not the uses and finally fairly close to the glimmers of gold is a pile of soft dirt with a dip in the center, 'that must be his nest'. As Natus trudges over towards the small dirt pile Lucille takes in the room, noticing small claw marks on the cave wall close to the ground along with a few fire patterns and poorly made dragons etched into the walls, her eyes are pried from the wall patterns as she begins to rotate as dirt is kicked into the air, once Natsu is done spinning the Dragoness as she comes to her senses she notices that the dirt nest has been expanded before she can think further she begins to descend into the mound at a steady pace as she slides from her perch on Natsu's back. Lucille whines when she is fully off of Natsu's back sorely missing her source of warmth.

Natsu freezes all movement at hearing the whine from the dragoness worried he aggravated her wounds as he snaps his gaze to identify the cause of the pained sound only to find a pout etched onto the face of the dragoness, the site causes the fire dragon to chuckle as he watches his new friend sulk, Lucille huffs at hearing the fire dragons amusement deciding to attempt to find warmth in his nest huddling in and laying her back against the dirt pit as she lays on her uninjured side curling along the edge. For Natsu the sight of the dragoness snuggling into his nest causes a proud growl to emerge from his chest as he moves to join the young dragoness in relaxing, circling the nest before softly laying down while being mindful of her injuries. The pair settles with Lucy curved in a crescent moon shape with Natsu mirroring her position with their tails still intertwined and his neck lying over hers while peaking over the edge of the nest to keep his eyes on the entrance. Luce's breathing evens out as her weight shifts to press further into Natsu's warm scales and he neck tucks deeper into his chest as she inhales his scent and lets out blissful exhales.

-Line Break-

Atlas Flame glides over the fire lands heading for his old friend not even needing his nose to know where his lazy king is currently residing, as the hellfire dragon gradually made his decent towards the lava pools within the royal grounds he spots a disruption in the pools waves his eyes immediately following it to the source to find the snout of a maroon dragon peeking out of the lava. 'Like father like son,' Atlas Flame muses as he lands on the edge of the pool closest to where the dragon that has been his friend since their days in the litter currently rested. "Oh, great Fire King may I have a moment of your time?" Came the overexaggerated spiel from Atlas as he rolls his eyes at 'the mighty Igneel' -he couldn't help but scoff at the nickname the Fire King gave himself as a hatchling that he still uses today- lay dormant resting peacefully in the lava only giving Atlas a grunt of acknowledgment. Seeing as Igneel has yet to move a grin spreads across the infernos face as he swipes his blazing paw across the lave fully submerging the kings head in the wave he caused and not a moment later in front of Atlas Flame stood a colossal dark red dragon with his horned snout aimed at the walking inferno as he glared at the hellfire dragon with his battle-scarred muzzle which didn't seem to faze him in the least. "Good your up, now come on let's go you need to see this." Atlas Flame states as he rises from his haunches turning his back on Igneel as the Fire King lets out a large sigh.

Igneel shook his head and turned back to his old friend his black eyes held a tired expression. "What did my brat break, fight or blow up that I need to fix… again," Igneel says in defeat more than agitation as the FIre King made his way out of the lava pools revealing his tan underbelly that matches the skin of his wings with his entire frame dripping in molten liquid as he shakes himself dry.

Atlas Flame no bothered by the flying molten fluid just continue walking away from the pool. "Oh you wouldn't believe me if I told you, it's just something you'll have to see for yourself." The way he put it intrigued Igneel, to say the least, his son has done some pretty stupid stuff so this must really be something to leave Atlas unable to explain.

"Alright then where are we going," At Igneel's question the massive inferno raises his head to the sky to find the scent. 'How can he smell without a nose?' Igneel finally questions after the many years of friendship between the two as Igneel hears Atlas Flame mutter 'of course he's there' as the Hellfire dragon unfurls his wings and takes off Igneel following right behind his longtime friend as they fly towards Natsu's den. As the duo near the den of the prince, Igneel picks up more than the scent of his son one he is very familiar with and the other he has a faint memory of that he can't bring forth. Igneels memory searching comes to a halt as the elder fire dragons land not too far off from a set of bickering youngling and the elder dragons begin their approach.

"-we know nothing about, she could be a danger to us all and your first move is to bring her to your den, honestly Natsu do you even think!" comes the agitated Roar of a blood red dragoness and a slightly darker underbelly one of the only dragons to have such well-blending scales definitely the only one known in the color red and also the only fire dragon besides Atlas and Igneel who is willing to deal with the prince's nonsense. Atlas Flame and Igneel took the girl in once they discovered no other dragon claimed her as their hatchling once the litter came of age to see their parents, most dragons couldn't fathom abandoning their hatchling and the thought alone would bring them to rage so the Fire King decided to take the youngling in, as a show of gratitude both elders deemed unnecessary she proclaimed herself Natsu's future advisor because 'someone had to make sure he stayed in line' which wasn't far from the truth and she happened to have a talent for the job so the duo allowed her to do as she wished, Usually, at hearing one of Erza's rants Natsu would be cowering and apologizing, so Igneel was at a loss for words when they came across his son openly growling at the pure red dragoness in a threatening manner, judging by Erza's face he isn't the only one who is surprised at Natsu's behavior. "Natsu are you even listening to me, she shouldn't even be here she needs to leave-" Erza's sentence is cut off when she has to pull back to avoid a snap at her throat from Natsu, seeing his son with such a feral look in his eyes and taking a violent move at his advisor Igneel rushes to step in.

"Natsu," The Fire King snaps at his son failing to contain his anger at seeing his son snapping at his friend since their time in the litter -much like himself and Atlas-. "What is going on here, why are you threatening your advisor?" Igneel demands rather than questions walking closer to stand over the younger dragon imposing his status as king which the Fire King is always reluctant to do. Igneel hears a faint whimper from Natsu's den then his son's growling intensifies as Natsu bares his teeth at his father in warning while taking a low crouch ready to strike but a large wall of flames comes to separate the two quick tempered royals.

"Okay~," States Atlas Flame from his spot between the three other fire dragons as he draws out the word. "I don't know why I expected this to go over any better but let's see if we can't clear things up a bit shall we." Atlas Flame says hoping to stop the pointless fighting of the group.

"But Sir Atlas he-" Erza is cut off when the Hellfire dragon looks in her direction.

"I know hatchling, let me try to explain then maybe we can get some answers." Atlas Flame says in a calm manner to his adoptive hatchling, when he receives a nod he continues. "Now hatchling why don't you come out so we can speak properly?" The elder dragons statement causes Natsu's growling to once again intensify as he steps around Atlas so he can block the entrance to his den. "Natsu none of us mean her any harm she can stay by you at all times I'm sure you'd both prefer that." Natsu looks over his shoulder into his den as if looking for an answer while Igneel turns to his friend a look of confusion clear on his face, his attention is brought back to Natsu when the boy begins heading into his den, Igneel opens his maw ready to voice his protest but a flaming tail hitting his flank tells him he should wait.

After a few moments of Natsu being in his den, as the trio are able to make out the silhouette of two dragons approaching Erza's lips pull back into a silent snarl at the scent of a foreign dragoness approaching, while Igneel's confusion just furthers as he watches the silhouettes exit the den and enter the light. "Layla?" The Fire King says shocking the entire group while causing Lucy to flinch back at the name tucking her head behind Natsu as she whimpers into his back while still leaning on him for support, the golden dragonesses whimpers cause the prince to resume his growl and cover the female with his wing as he glares at the offenders. Igneel shakes his head remembering his old friend passed over a century ago and turns his gaze back to the dragoness his son is shielding. Taking note that yes this dragoness bares a strong resemblance to his once great friend but the youngling before him has a slightly more colorful underbelly aside from that the pair could be twins with the same scales resembling perfect gold and the same emotional brown eyes it's almost comical. Only then does Igneel notice her poor state her marked size and the weak muscles and wings realizing the poor child has had quite the rough go of it. "Youngling what's your name?" Igneel asks the youngling only to receive a growl from his son as he attempts to shield her more, though Natsu's growling is quickly silenced by the golden dragoness nuzzling his neck before drawing her face away from the prince to face the king's direction with her head bowed.

"My names Lucille." The dragoness says so quite that the dragons barely hear her but they do.

Igneel nods at the girl. "Light, the name fits you young one," The Fire King calls as he takes a seat on his haunches the other two fire dragons following his lead as Natsu still shields the dragoness by his side. "Do you mind me asking where you're from and why you're here?" The dark red dragon asks hesitantly, seeing her flinch at the question Natsu prepares to growl but stops when she begins to speak her gaze never leaving the ground.

"I'm an astral dragon and I'm from their lands, why I'm here is well… complicated but to put it simply I guess because I don't wish to be there while I also just felt strangely drawn to this place and its warmth." The newly discovered astral dragon subconsciously leans into Natsu when finishing her sentence never raising her head from looking at the ground.

Igneel gazed at the girl with calculating eyes not doubting her words but knowing there's more. "Why did you flinch when I addressed you as Layla you seem young enough to not remember the previous astral queen. Much to the entire groups shock the golden dragon scoffs at the king's words making all eyes widen.

"As if I would forget my own mother," Lucille barked malice evident in her tone, Lucille takes a deep breath trying to calm herself down while the other dragons take in her statement.

"So your Layla's daughter, that explains the scent," Spoke Igneel being the first to gain his senses. "But that doesn't explain why you left, astral dragons have been matriarchal as long as I've been alive if you're Layla's daughter as you say that would make you the next to lead once you come of age unless you don't wish to lead." taking the glare from Lucille as an answer the Fire King confusion furthers not understanding the dragoness.

"Wait, old man" Natsu chimes in. "if Luce is supposed to be the leader when she's older than who's in charge now?" The prince asks curiously wanting to know about the girls home.

"Jude," Comes the reply from Lucy her voice held so much malice and spite it made the two elder fire dragons flinch at the memory of the girls' late mother the tone brought forth. "That monster wanted to barter me off to stay as king of the astral dragons, made some revolution about males being dominant, females are currently being subjugated so the males can have power, apparently being equal wasn't enough, power-hungry bastards." Lucille spits out, her voice never raising in volume but the malice never leaving, the astral dragon wasn't even addressing them really just thinking out loud not caring if they hear. All of the fire dragons were taken aback by this none more than the royals Igneel mentally berating himself for not realizing it on his own and Natsu growling his instincts ready to kill anyone who would try to subjugate his mate even her own father. Lucy's gaze snaps up to meet the eyes of the Fire King in her first display of courage that day. "I understand if you don't want an outsider in your territory Fire King and I will leave if you'd like but I will die before I let you send me back there." No longer leaning on Natsu Lucille strides away from his support and directly in front of Igneel raising her head to look at the elder dragon in the face with solid determination in her eyes that remind the king so much of her mothers.

Igneel pulls his mouth back into a dragons grin displaying his fangs before loud laughter erupts from the king and he's forced to break his stare with the astral dragon as his body shakes with laughter. All other dragons look at the king with different emotions, from the exasperation of his friend to borderline rage of his son and the astral heir. As Igneel regains his composure While wiping a comical tear from his eye with a curved claw he notices the displeased looks of his audience and quickly regains his composure as he focuses back on the young golden dragon. "I will not hand you over to Jude we never exactly saw eye to eye on anything and I imagine even if I did want to I'd have a large pink trouble making problem to deal with first." Ignoring his son's shout of 'It's not pink you fossil!' he continues addressing Lucy. "I also believe the council needs to know about the problems going on in the Astral Plains so that their proper queen has a home once again," Igneel says with excitement and a tinge of arrogance to his tone as he turns to look over his shoulder to the other fire dragons. "What do you think Atlas?"

Rolling his eyes at his old friend's eagerness for a fight but unable to suppress the smile and bit of eagerness in his own voice. "Already on my way to call the meeting." Atlas flame calls as he makes his way out of the group for room to take off.

As the massive blazing wings beat and lift the inferno off the ground Igneel turns back to the younger dragons, Natsu had come up to stand next to Lucy while she returned to leaning on him while Erza was on Natsu's left all of their eyes turned on Igneel. "Natsu I trust you can look after Lucy," hearing his son mumble damn right as the boy turns his gaze onto the dragoness using him as a crutch. "And Erza I trust you'll look after Natsu as per usual." This remark earning an 'of course your highness.' from the ever formal red dragoness a shout of indignation from his son and the small laughter from the astral dragoness. "There's nothing more we can do today so how about you hatchlings get some rest." No argument was posed with Natsu gently nudging Luce with his snout the duo went back towards his den to get the astral dragon some well-deserved rest.

As the young pair enter Natsu's den Igneel turns and begins to leave the vicinity with the scarlet dragoness hot on his heels, once they reach a far enough the duo won't pick up the younger one starts, "This is very troubling sir," The dark red dragon just nods in confirmation. "This puts stock in the rumors the council has been suspecting," The king once again nods but gives an audible grunt as well this time. "And with Lucille's story, she has no reason to lie this could lead to all-out war and if it's true that he is helping them the-" Erza is interrupted by the elders' abrupt input.

"I'm aware of what this could mean Erza and I'm glad you are as well," Igneel states in a firm tone but not unpleasantly. "and I know that with Lucille's words the worst case scenario just became far more likely than before, and if it is necessary we will destroy them both, I just hope it won't come to that." The king states to the young advisor confirming her suspicion and making her worry for the peace that has lasted until this point. "You should get some rest, It's been a long day," Igneel says with a sense finality to his tone as he watches the sun start to disappear over the horizon, at his words Erza bows to the king and head off towards her own den. Igneel takes one look opposite of the setting sun and sees the stars as they start to dot the horizon 'I'll protect our hatchlings, Layla rest well.' with one last glance at the stars, the king heads back towards his own den for the night.


End file.
